Mobile terminal

ABSTRACT

A mobile terminal includes a frame having a front side and a rear side, the rear side having a first receiving space and a second receiving space located beside one another, a front cover disposed to at least partially cover the front side of the frame, the front cover having a transparent portion, a touch screen located between the front cover and the frame, the touch screen permitting transmission of a signal when the transparent portion is contacted, a camera located in one of the first and second receiving spaces, and a rear cover disposed to at least partially cover each of the first and second receiving spaces.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of co-pending application Ser. No.11/777,131, filed on Jul. 12, 2007 which claims the benefit to KoreanPatent Application Nos. 10-2006-0066575, filed on Jul. 14, 2006, and10-2006-0071042, filed on Jul. 27, 2006, which are expresslyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a mobile terminal and, moreparticularly, to a mobile terminal that is thin.

2. Description of Related Art

In general, a mobile terminal includes a display unit having a displayto display information and a terminal body that is connected to thedisplay unit by a hinge connection unit. The terminal body has a keypadthat is mounted on its front surface and inputs information and abattery that is mounted on its rear surface. A speaker that generates asound is mounted at one end of the display unit and a microphone thatinputs a sound is mounted at one end of the terminal body.

In the related art mobile terminal, when the display unit is rotatedcentering around the hinge connection unit and opened, the display andthe keypad are exposed to allow the terminal to be used in acommunication mode to transmit and receive data.

However, the related art mobile terminal has the following problem. Thatis, because the two bodies are connected to allow opening and closingthereof, the overall thickness of the terminal is undesirably large, andthus a larger sized display cannot be implemented due to limitations insize expansion.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, in order to address the above matters the various featuresdescribed herein have been conceived. One aspect of the exemplaryembodiments is to provide a mobile terminal which is thin and appealingaesthetical design by forming front and rear covers on both sides of aframe positioned at a middle portion of the mobile terminal.

According to principles of this invention, a mobile terminal is providedthat includes a frame having a front side and a rear side, the rear sidehaving a first receiving space and a second receiving space locatedbeside one another, a front cover disposed to at least partially coverthe front side of the frame, the front cover having a transparentportion, a touch screen located between the front cover and the frame,the touch screen permitting transmission of a signal when thetransparent portion is contacted, a camera located in one of the firstand second receiving spaces, and a rear cover disposed to at leastpartially cover each of the first and second receiving spaces.

In another aspect, the transparent portion may be a display window. Inaddition, a display may be mounted in a space between the front coverand the front side of the frame, the display being visible through thedisplay window.

In another aspect, at least one circuitry supporting substrate islocated in the first receiving space. In addition, a battery may belocated in the second receiving space.

In still another aspect, a speaker hole is located at an upper portionof the front cover.

In a different aspect, a keypad mounting part is located in the frontcover.

In yet another aspect, the front cover is fastened by fasteners to theframe in a direction from the frame towards the front cover to preventthe fasteners from being exposed.

In another aspect, the frame includes a support unit having an outersurface that is exposed, the support unit defining the edge of theframe, and a partitioning plate that divides the frame into the frontside and the rear side. In addition, a display may be located on thefront side of the frame, a circuitry supporting substrate may be locatedin the first receiving space, and the partitioning plate includes athrough hole to allow a connector to connect the display to thecircuitry supporting substrate through the partitioning plate.

In a further aspect, the first and second receiving spaces are disposedhorizontal to the rear side of the frame.

In still another aspect, the rear cover covers the first receiving spaceand a battery cover is detachably mounted to cover the second receivingspace.

In a different aspect, a camera window is located in the rear cover.

In still another aspect, the rear cover includes a plurality of hooks atone end and a plurality of fastening holes at the other end, the one endof the rear cover is fastened to the frame in a hooking manner and theother end thereof is fastened to the frame via fasteners passing throughthe fastening holes. In addition, the battery cover may cover thefastening holes of the rear cover.

In yet another aspect, at least one keypad for inputting information ismounted on at least one of the four sides of the frame, and at least onekeypad is mounted on the front side of the frame. In addition, the atleast one keypad for inputting information mounted on at least one ofthe four sides of the frame may include first and second keypads, eachof the first and second keypads being located at opposite sides of theframe, and the at least one keypad mounted on the front side of theframe may be a third keypad located at an edge portion of the frontsurface of the frame. The keypads may be push type keypads that inputsignals according to a pressing operation.

In still a further aspect, a microphone may be mounted at the thirdkeypad and the microphone and the third keypad are electricallyconnected.

In another aspect, the first and third keypads may be connected by aflexible circuitry supporting substrate, and the first keypad includes afirst connector electrically connectable to a circuitry supportingsubstrate. In addition, the second keypad includes a second connectorelectrically connectable to a circuitry supporting substrate.

In accordance with principles of this invention, a mobile terminal isprovided that includes a body having a front side and a rear side, atleast a majority of the front side being a transparent portion, an outersurface of the front side including the transparent portion beingsubstantially flat, a display located in the body and visible throughthe transparent portion of the front side of the body, a touch screenlocated between the transparent portion and the display, and a cameralocated at the rear side of the body.

In another aspect, at least one key may be arranged on a side of thebody for inputting information.

In still another aspect, a speaker hole may be located at the frontside.

In another aspect, a microphone may be located in the body.

In yet another aspect, the terminal can transmit and/or receive data.

Further aspects of the mobile terminal are similar to those detailedabove.

Further scope of applicability of the present application will becomemore apparent from the detailed description given hereinafter. However,it should be understood that the detailed description and specificexamples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, aregiven by way of illustration only, since various changes andmodifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principles of theinvention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of the mobile terminal according tothe exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the mobile terminal accordingto the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the mobile terminal according to theexemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of a frame of the mobile terminalaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of akeypad of the frame according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a keypad according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a sectional vie taken along line X-X in FIG. 9; and

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the mobile terminal without a batterycover according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A slide type mobile terminal according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention will now be described in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a mobile terminal according to anexemplary embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a rearperspective view of the mobile terminal according to the exemplaryembodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspectiveview of the mobile terminal according to the exemplary embodiment of thepresent invention, and FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the mobile terminalaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The mobile terminal according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention includes a frame 20 with an external circumferential surfacebeing exposed and supporting the entire mobile terminal, a front cover10 fastened on a front surface of the frame 20, and a rear cover 30fastened on a rear surface of the frame 20. A display 12 is mounted in aspace between the front cover 10 and the frame 20. At least onecircuitry supporting substrate 14 is mounted in a space between theframe 20 and the rear cover 30 along with a battery 16.

The front cover 10 is at least partially transparent to define a displaywindow 18 allowing information displayed on the display 12 to be seen,and a transparent touch screen 22 is attached on a rear surface of thefront cover 10 to allow information to be inputted in a touch manner.

A substrate 26 having a driving circuit 24 attached at one end thereofis connected with the touch screen 22, and the substrate 26 is connectedwith the circuitry supporting substrate 14 by a flexible circuitrysupporting substrate (not shown).

A speaker hole 31 for emanating sound generated from the speaker 28 isformed at an upper end of the front cover 10, and a keypad mounting hole33 is formed at a lower end of the front cover 10. A keypad 114 thatinputs information is mounted at a lower end of the front cover 10 andis accessible through the keypad mounting hole 33. Preferably, at leastone or more keypads are mounted on the front surface of the front cover10.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are perspective views of a frame of the mobile terminalaccording to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.7 is an exploded perspective view showing a mounting structure of akeypad of the frame according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

The frame 20 has certain rigidity to maintain overall rigidity of theterminal. The frame 20 includes a support 32 that has a certain heightand is formed in a rectangular shape in a circumferential direction atan edge portion and has an outer surface being exposed, and apartitioning plate 34 formed within the support 32 and partitioningfront and rear sides of the frame 32.

A through hole 36 is formed on the partitioning plate 34 to allow aconnector, which electrically connects the display 12 mounted on thefront surface of the partitioning plate 34 and the circuitry supportingsubstrate 14 mounted on the rear surface of the partitioning plate 34,to pass therethrough. Keypad mounting holes 38 are provided in thesupport 32 to allow access to keypads located therein.

A camera mounting part 57 on which a camera 61 is mounted is formed atone side of the partitioning plate 34. A speaker mounting part 40 onwhich the speaker 28 is mounted is formed at the side of the cameramounting part 57.

A first mounting face 42 on which the edge portion of the front cover 10is mounted is formed at a front edge portion of the frame 20, and asecond mounting face 44 on which the edge portion of the rear cover 30is mounted is formed at a rear edge portion of the frame 20.

Fastening holes 48 are penetratingly formed at four corner portions ofthe frame 20, through which fasteners pass to be fastened with the frontcover 10.

The fastening structure of the frame 20 and the front cover 10 will nowbe described in detail. The front cover 10 is mounted on the firstmounting face 42 formed on the front surface of the frame 20, and thenthe fasteners are allowed to pass through the fastening holes in thedirection of the front cover 10 from the rear surface of the frame 20 soas to be fastened in the fastening holes formed at the four cornerportions of the inner surface of the front cover 10. Because thefasteners pass through a first fastening hole 48 from the rear side tothe front side of the frame 20 so as to be fastened with the front cover20, the front surface of the front cover 10 can have a fine designwithout a fastener hole for fastening the fasteners.

Fastening holes 50 are formed at both sides of a middle portion of theframe 20 for fastening the frame 20 with the rear cover 30.

On the rear surface of the frame 20, there are formed a substratemounting part 52 on which the circuitry supporting substrate 14 ismounted and a battery mounting part 54 on which the battery 16 ismounted. A partition 53 separates the substrate mounting part 52 and thebattery mounting part 54 into first and second receiving spaces. Thecamera mounting part is formed in one of the receiving spaces,preferably the first receiving space.

First and second keypads 110, 112 are mounted on at least one of thefour sides of the frame 20, and at least one or more keypads, such as athird keypad 114 is mounted on the front side of the frame 20, andkeypad mounting parts 130, 132 and 134 in which the keypads are mountedare formed at the frame 20. The first and second keypads 110 and 112 areside keypads that are mounted at the side of the frame 20 and inputinformation similar to the third keypad 114. The keypads may providemany different functions including activating/deactivating the touchscreen 22 to prevent inadvertent command entry via the touch screen 22.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the first and second keypads 110, 114are electrically connected by the flexible circuitry supportingsubstrate 138. A first connector 140 is mounted at the first keypad 110and the first connector 140 is electrically connected with the circuitrysupporting substrate 14. Accordingly, the first and third keypads 110and 114 can be electrically connected with the circuitry supportingsubstrate 14 by the single connector 140.

A microphone 120 for generating a sound is mounted at the side of thethird keypad 114. Because the microphone 120 is electrically connectedwith the third keypad 114, the microphone 120 is electrically connectedwith the circuitry supporting substrate 14 by means of the firstconnector 140 so that the microphone 120 generates a sound according toan electrical signal applied from the circuitry supporting substrate 14.

A microphone mounting part 122 in which the microphone 120 is mounted isformed at the frame 20.

The second keypad 112 is a side keypad mounted at the side of the frame20. The second keypad 113 has a second connector 142 mounted at one sidethereof and is electrically connected with the circuitry supportingsubstrate 14.

In the exemplary embodiment shown, the first keypad mounting part 130,on which the first keypad 110 is mounted, is formed at one side of theframe 20, the second keypad mounting part 132, on which the secondkeypad 112 is mounted, is formed at the other side of the frame 20, anda third keypad mounting part 134, on which the third keypad 114 ismounted, is formed at an edge portion of the front surface of the frame20.

Herein, as shown in FIG. 8, the first and second keypad mounting parts130 and 132 are formed in a certain space form by support ribs 146vertically protruded at left and right edge portions of the frame 20, inwhich the first and second keypads 110 and 120 are mounted.

The above-described first, second and third keypads 110, 112, and 114are push type keypads, and, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, they include akeypad circuitry supporting substrate 150 fixed on the keypad mountingpart, a dome switch 152 mounted on an upper surface of the keypadcircuitry supporting substrate 150 for inputting a signal by a pressingoperation, and a key button 154 mounted on an upper surface of the domeswitch 152 and exposed so that when a user presses it, it pushes thedome switch 152.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the mobile terminal without a batterycover according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The rear cover 30 is fastened on the substrate mounting part 52 of theframe 20. One end of the rear cover 30 is hooked at one end of the frame20 and the other end thereof is fastener-fastened at the frame 20.Namely, hooking protrusions 56 (FIG. 6) are formed to be protruded in aninward direction at an edge portion of the rear surface of the frame 20,and the fastener fasting holes 50 are formed at both sides of the middleportion of the rear surface of the frame 20. Hooks 58 (FIG. 3) to engagethe hooking protrusions 56 are formed at one end of the rear cover 30,and fastening holes 60 are formed at the other end of the rear cover 30and communicate with the fastening holes 50 so as to be fastened.

A camera window 62 is formed on the rear cover 30 and allows a cameralens of the camera 61 to be exposed.

An assembling process of the rear cover 30 will now be described. First,the hooks 58 formed at one end of the rear cover 30 are inserted toengage the hooking protrusions 56 of the frame 20. Thereafter, thefasteners are fastened in the fastening holes 60 formed at the rearcover 30 to make the rear cover 30 fastened to the frame 20.

A battery cover 66 (FIG. 3) for protecting the battery is combined onthe battery mounting part 54 of the frame 20. Hooks (not shown forclarity) formed at one end of the battery cover 66 are inserted inrecesses 70 formed at a middle portion of the frame 20, and the otherend of the battery cover 66 is locked by a battery cover locking unit 72mounted at one end of the frame 20.

The battery cover 66 covers the fastener fasting holes 60 so that themobile terminal can have an appealing aesthetical design without suchholes for fastening.

The assembling process of the mobile terminal according to the presentinvention will now be described.

The display 12 is mounted on the front surface of the frame 20, thecircuitry supporting substrate 14 is mounted on the board mounting part52 of the rear surface of the frame 20, and the battery 16 is mounted onthe battery mounting part 54 of the rear surface of the frame 20. Thedisplay 12 and the circuitry supporting substrate 14 are connected bythe connector.

The transparent touch screen 22 is attached on the inner surface of thefront cover 10. The first and second keypads 110 and 112 are mounted onthe first and second keypad mounting parts 130 and 132 formed at theside of the frame 20, and the third keypad 114 is mounted on the thirdkeypad mounting part 134 formed at the front surface of the frame 20.And then, the first connector 140 mounted at the first keypad 110 andthe second connector 142 mounted at the second keypad 112 are connectedwith the circuitry supporting substrate 14.

Thereafter, the front cover 10 is mounted on the front surface of theframe 20. Namely, after the front cover 10 is mounted on the frontsurface of the frame 20, the fasteners are inserted into the fasteningholes 48 of the frame 20 from the rear side to the front side, so as tobe fastened with the front cover 10. Accordingly, because the fasteningholes are not exposed from the outer surface of the front cover 10, theterminal can have the appealing aesthetical design.

The rear cover 30 is combined on the rear surface of the frame 20.Specifically, the hooks 58 of the rear cover 30 are hooked to thehooking protrusions 56 formed at one end of the frame 20, and then, thefasteners are allowed to pass through the fastening holes 60 of the rearcover 30 so as to be fastened with the fastening holes 50 of the frame20.

The battery cover 66 is mounted on the rear surface of the frame 20.Namely, the hooks formed at one end of the battery cover 66 are insertedinto the recesses 70 formed at the frame 20, and then, the other end ofthe battery cover 66 is locked by the battery cover locking unit 72mounted at one side of the frame 20. Then, because the battery cover 66covers the fastening holes 60 of the rear cover 30, the fastening holesare not exposed from the rear surface of the terminal, contributing tomake the mobile terminal have the fine and neat design.

As so far described, the mobile terminal according to the presentinvention has the following advantages.

That is, because the front cover is combined on the front surface of theframe with its outer surface being exposed, the rear cover is combinedon the rear surface of the frame, the display is mounted between theframe and the front cover, and the circuitry supporting substrate ismounted between the frame and the rear cover, the terminal can becomethin and have the appealing aesthetical design.

As the present invention may be embodied in several forms withoutdeparting from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof, itshould also be understood that the above-described embodiments are notlimited by any of the details of the foregoing description, unlessotherwise specified, but rather should be construed broadly within itsspirit and scope as defined in the appended claims, and therefore allchanges and modifications that fall within the metes and bounds of theclaims, or equivalents of such metes and bounds are therefore intendedto be embraced by the appended claims.

1. A mobile terminal comprising: a terminal case partitioned into afirst space and a second space, the second space having an upper portionand a lower portion disposed in a length direction; first and secondPCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) mounted in the upper portion, wherein thefirst and second PCBs are mounted to be partially overlapping eachother; a battery disposed to face the first and second PCBs and mountedin the lower portion; keypads electrically connected to at least one ofthe first and second PCBs and mounted on at least two of four sides ofthe terminal case; a touch screen installed to a front surface of theterminal; a display module mounted in the first space and, located overthe battery and the first and second PCBs and located under the touchscreen and configured to display information; and front and rear coversenclosing the terminal case, wherein the keypads include a first keypadand a second keypad connected to at least one of the first and secondPCBs, wherein the terminal case is disposed between the front and rearcovers and between the display module and the battery and first andsecond PCBs and includes a through hole to electrically connect thedisplay module to at least one of the first and second PCBs, and whereinthe first and second keypads are mounted on first and second sides ofthe terminal case, respectively, and a third keypad is mounted on thefront surface of the terminal case and electrically connected to thefirst keypad.
 2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the first space isformed on a front surface of the terminal case, and the second space isformed on a rear surface of the terminal case.
 3. The terminal of claim1, wherein the terminal case comprises: a supporting portion having anouter surface that is exposed, the supporting portion defining an edgeof the terminal case; and a partitioning plate that divides thesupporting portion into a front side and a rear side.
 4. The terminal ofclaim 3, wherein the through hole is formed on the partitioning plate toallow a connector to connect the display module to at least one of thefirst and second PCBs.
 5. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the upperportion and the lower portion of the second space are disposedhorizontal to a rear side of the terminal case, and are located besideone another.
 6. The terminal of claim 1, wherein a region of the frontcover is at least partially transparent and the display module isvisible through the region.
 7. The terminal of claim 1, wherein thekeypads are push type keypads that input signals according to a pressingoperation.
 8. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the first keypad includesa first connector, the second keypad includes a second connector, andthe terminal case includes through holes to electrically connect thefirst and second connectors to at least one of the first and second PCBsmounted at a rear side of the terminal case.
 9. The terminal of claim 1,further comprising a microphone mounted at the third keypad, themicrophone electrically connected to the third keypad.
 10. The terminalof claim 1, wherein the first and third keypads are connected to eachother by a FPC (Flexible Printed Circuit).
 11. The terminal of claim 1,wherein the display module is located over an entire of the battery andthe first and second PCBs.
 12. A mobile terminal comprising: a terminalcase having a front space and a rear space, the rear space having afirst space and a second space disposed in a length direction; first andsecond PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) mounted in the first space, whereinthe first and second PCBs are mounted to be partially overlapping eachother; a battery disposed to face the first and second PCBs and mountedin the second space; keypads electrically connected to at least one ofthe first and second PCBs and mounted on at least two of four sides ofthe terminal case; a touch screen installed to a front surface of theterminal; a display module mounted in the front space, and located overthe battery and the first and second PCBs and located under the touchscreen and configured to display information; and front and rear coversenclosing the terminal case, wherein the keypads include a first keypadand a second keypad connected to at least one of the first and secondPCBs, wherein the terminal case is disposed between the front and rearcovers and between the display module and the battery and first andsecond PCBs and includes through holes to electrically connect thedisplay module to at least one of the first and second PCBs, and whereinthe first and second keypads are mounted on first and second sides ofthe terminal case, respectively, and a third keypad is mounted on thefront surface of the terminal case and electrically connected to thefirst keypad.
 13. The terminal of claim 12, wherein the terminal casecomprises: a supporting portion having an outer surface that is exposed,the supporting portion defining an edge of the terminal case; and apartitioning plate that divides the supporting portion into a front sideand a rear side.
 14. The terminal of claim 13, wherein the through holesare formed on the partitioning plate to allow a connector to connect thedisplay module to at least one of the first and second PCBs.
 15. Theterminal of claim 12, wherein the first space and the second space aredisposed horizontal to a rear side of the terminal case, and are locatedbeside one another.
 16. A mobile terminal comprising: a terminal casehaving a front space and a rear space, the rear space having a firstspace and a second space disposed in a length direction; first andsecond PCBs (Printed Circuit Boards) mounted in the first space, whereinthe first and second PCBs are mounted to be partially overlapping eachother; a battery disposed to face the first and second PCBs and mountedin the second space; keypads electrically connected to at least one ofthe first and second PCBs and mounted on at least two of four sides ofthe terminal case; a touch screen installed to a front surface of theterminal; a display module mounted in the front space, and located overthe battery and the first and second PCBs and located under the touchscreen and configured to display information; and front and rear coversenclosing the terminal case, wherein the keypads include a first keypadand a second keypad connected to at least one of the first and secondPCBs, wherein the terminal case is disposed between the front and rearcovers and between the display module and the battery and first andsecond PCBs and includes through holes to electrically connect thedisplay module to at least one of the first and second PCBs, and whereinthe first and second keypads are mounted on first and second sides ofthe terminal case, respectively, and a third keypad is mounted on thefront surface of the terminal case.